Monday, November 14, 2011

Hawaiian singer surprises Obama summit with ‘Occupy’ song

A popular Hawaiian recording artist turned a top-security dinner of Pacific Rim leaders hosted by President Barack Obama into a subtle protest with a song in support of the “Occupy” movement.

Makana, who goes by one name, was enlisted to play a luau, or Hawaiian feast, Saturday night for leaders assembled in Obama’s birthplace Honolulu for an annual summit that is formulating plans for a Pacific free-trade pact.

But in the midst of the dinner on the resort strip Waikiki Beach, he pulled open his jacket to reveal a T-shirt that read “Occupy with Aloha,” using the Hawaiian word whose various meanings include love and peace. He then sang a marathon version of his new song “We Are The Many.”

“I was pretty nervous. In fact I was terrified. I kept thinking ‘what are the consequences going to be?’” Makana, 33, told AFP.

“It was incredibly comical. I was terrified but also enjoying it,” he said.

Makana, who was born Matthew Swalinkavich, said the song prompted awkward stares from a few of those present but the Obamas appeared too absorbed with their guests to notice what was happening.

The performance occurred at a dinner for summit participants from 21 economies around the Asia-Pacific, including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, amid a security lockdown in Waikiki.

As Makana sang, about 400 protesters including anti-globalization and native Hawaiian rights activists staged a protest march toward the dinner site but turned back after encountering the smothering security.

Makana released the song on the Internet the day before and decided to play it at the urging of fans, he said.

Inspired by the anti-capitalist [sic] movement that began with the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations in New York, it denounces Washington politicians, corporate greed and what he sees as an unfair American economic system.

The song features the refrain, “We’ll occupy the streets, we’ll occupy the courts, we’ll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.”

He sang it “over and over” for 40 minutes, varying his tempo and delivery to avoid triggering an overt reaction.

“Whenever I felt the heat might come down, I would ease off. It was a very careful procedure,” he said.

We Are The Many

Ye come here, gather 'round the stage

The time has come for us to voice our rage

Against the ones who've trapped us in a cage

To steal from us the value of our wage

From underneath the vestiture of law

The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw

At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw

And until they are purged, we won't withdraw

We'll occupy the streets

We'll occupy the courts

We'll occupy the offices of you

Till you do

The bidding of the many, not the few

Our nation was built upon the right

Of every person to improve their plight

But laws of this Republic they rewrite

And now a few own everything in sight

They own it free of liability

They own, but they are not like you and me

Their influence dictates legality

And until they are stopped we are not free

We'll occupy the streets

We'll occupy the courts

We'll occupy the offices of you

Till you do

The bidding of the many, not the few

You enforce your monopolies with guns

While sacrificing our daughters and sons

But certain things belong to everyone

Your thievery has left the people none

So take heed of our notice to redress

We have little to lose, we must confess

Your empty words do leave us unimpressed

A growing number join us in protest

We occupy the streets

We occupy the courts

We occupy the offices of you

Till you do

The bidding of the many, not the few

You can't divide us into sides

And from our gaze, you cannot hide

Denial serves to amplify

And our allegiance you can't buy

Our government is not for sale

The banks do not deserve a bail

We will not reward those who fail

We will not move till we prevail

We'll occupy the streets

We'll occupy the courts

We'll occupy the offices of you

Till you do

The bidding of the many, not the few

We'll occupy the streets

We'll occupy the courts

We'll occupy the offices of you

Till you do

The bidding of the many, not the few

We are the many

You are the few

Download song for free here:

http://makanamusic.com/?slide=we-are-the-many

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Comment: David Rovics also composed a beautiful song on the same topic:

Occupy Wall Street (We're Gonna Stay Right Here)

Because this is where they buy the politicians

Because this is where power has its seat

Because ninety-nine percent of us are suffering

At the mercy of the madmen on this street

Because all of us are victims of class warfare

Being waged on us by the one percent

Because these greedy banksters rob the country

Leaving us without the means to pay the rent

Because the last time that we had a decent government

Was about 1932

Because we the people are supposed to run the country

But instead it's all run by and for the few

Because now we know the rich do not pay taxes

But when they need a hand it's us who bail them out

Because we suspected we lived in a plutocracy

But suddenly of late there is no doubt

And so we're gonna stay right here (2x)

Because both my parents lost their savings

Because I have never opened an account

Because the interest on my credit card just doubled

And now I can't pay the minimum amount

Because these budget cuts are just immoral

With our schools as overcrowded as they are

Because there are no buses where I live

But I can't afford to drive a car

Because so many of us don't have health insurance

The rest of us have it but it sucks

Because the rich are riding in their private jets

While the rest of us are slogging through the muck

Because capitalism isn't working

This system has just failed to produce

Because the one percent is prospering

While the rest of us just suffer their abuse

Because it has been demonstrated amply

That the winners are the ones who stick around

Because this world should belong to everyone

Not just the banksters who would smash it to the ground

Because we've noticed voting doesn't change things

When the politicians are mostly millionaires

Because we're learning how to stand up like Tunisians

Like they did in Tahrir Square

Where a young man named Mohamed Bouazizi

Struck a match that lit up all the Earth

And all around the world the spell was broken

And a movement for the future was in birth

Because there's only so much shit the rich can feed us

Before we figure out which side we're on

Because we've learned if we want our liberation

It will come only if we stay here til the rising of the dawn

Because corporations are not people

And we can't just let them choose

Because if we leave our fate to them

Then all of us will surely lose

Because the climate clock is ticking

And we can't just leave our world behind

Because corporate rule isn't working

And it's time for humans' hearts and minds

Because you can't take it with you

Because the rich just do not care

Because it doesn't matter how much you make

But how much you can share

Because these moments don't come often

Because we want truly to be free

Because we know what really matters

Something called society

One soul at a time, the realization that 'enough is enough' is gradually making its way into the USA.

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